What's this button do?
by cousin D
Summary: Finished! Gohan, Mirai Trunks, Goten, Chibi Trunks, and baby Bra all take an unexpected ride in Bulma's new dimension jumping  machine. They end up on the planet Vegetasai where Vegeta is King and Goku is his right hand warrior.
1. a misadventure

Dragonball Z crossed with Dragonball Z  
  
I don't own, so I'll settle for borrowing them. I reread this when I decided to finish it today and decided it was awful, so I thought I'd rewrite a bit. Enjoy.  
  
To avoid confusion, future Trunks will be referred to as Mirai and Little Trunks will be called Trunks.  
  
  
  
What's this button do?  
  
Cousin D  
  
Mirai (future) Trunks waited for Gohan patiently. If nothing else, his life had taught him the value of patience.   
  
This world was just to strange and Mirai didn't feel at all comfortable in this world with no fear. As he floated high above the school, Mirai watched and waited. He knew Gohan was in the school below him, he could easily feel the subdued power level of about four hundred moving around inside the building. While the humans all had pitifully low levels of two or ten, Mirai knew that one single high reading was Gohan's. No human could possibly reach such a high level without special training and Mirai was fairly sure there was no one in this time who would be going to high school except Gohan.  
  
'I can't believe I get to see Gohan at my own age.' The thought thrilled Mirai to no end. The last he'd seen Gohan as a teenager had been in his own timeline when Gohan had died at the hands of Android 17 and Android 18. 'Will he be like I remember him? Will he be like Goku?' The image of Gohan in his father's orange gi floated through Mirai's head. His master. Gohan was his master and the only father figure he'd ever had, since his dad had died when Mirai had been so young. That hadn't really registered the last time Mirai had met a little eight year old Gohan. That hadn't been quite right. Now, finally, he was going to meet the Gohan he remembered, strong and sure of what he was doing. The man who had led the fight against the Androids.  
  
"Videl!" Mirai's attention was drawn down to the front door of the school. It was easy enough to focus on the energy level, but he was a tiny bit surprised at what he saw.  
  
"Don't give me that puppy dog look, Son Gohan!" A small girl, with a respectable power level of near one hundred, came walking stiffly out of the school with a furious expression. It was one of those expressions only women could master, a mix of insult, anger, and indignation. "I saw what you were doing! How could you!?" She was a very pretty girl, though she was very small. Her dark hair was cut short and, from the way she moved, Mirai could tell that she was a fighter of some kind, though clearly not up to his level. Her hands were rough and callused, her eyes were hard and dark. She clearly wasn't any kind of a threat...well...not to a Saiyan, anyway.   
  
"But I wasn't doing anything!" How strange to see Gohan in this world. He wasn't even wearing the gi Mirai had imagined him in, but trousers and a white shirt with a badge on it. He carried a school bag in one hand and chased after the dark haired girl. "Come on, I was just helping Eraser with her homework. I don't even know why you're so upset!"  
  
The girl stopped and Mirai could feel her anger mounting, no doubt Gohan could, too, because he took a cautious step backwards. "If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you!" She nearly screamed before marching off.  
  
Wow.  
  
Mirai swallowed hard. He hadn't been expecting to see his master with a girlfriend. Ick. It was like finding out that your parents still...ewww. Mirai shook his head to rid himself of his master doing THAT sort of thing with anyone. It just wasn't right.  
  
Still, he had come here to see Gohan and he wasn't leaving until that was done. Gently, Mirai let his power level rise high enough for Gohan to feel him. The power rise had the desired effect and Gohan looked up instead of chasing after the irate girl.  
  
Gohan gaped up for a moment and then broke out in a wide smile. Strangely, he didn't immediately fly up to meet Mirai. He made a waving gesture, signaling Mirai to follow him after he'd looked carefully around. Mirai did follow where Gohan had gone, floating above the crowds that Gohan walked easily through, smiling and making polite chic-chat with the people he passed. When Gohan stopped walking he was behind the school, with no one around.   
  
Looking up at Mirai with a bright, innocent smile that seemed foreign on the face of the teenage Gohan of Mirai's memory, yet so reminiscent of the eight-year-old Gohan Mirai had met just a short time ago.   
  
"Mirai Trunks!" Gohan shot straight up at Mirai and embraced him warmly. Trunks couldn't help but smile when he hugged Gohan back. "It's been so long! You look just the same. Do Bulma and Vegeta know you're back, yet?"  
  
"No." Mirai held onto Gohan's arms and they studied each other. Gohan had no scar on his face and still had both arms, how very odd. He remembered his master Gohan hugging him as a child in a one armed embrace and this was so different. Still, it was a good sign. Gohan looked happy and healthy, so Mirai couldn't complain much. "I came straight here, but I expect my father and yours now I'm here now that I raised my power level. I wanted to see you first. I've been waiting to meet you as an adult. Weird. You're so different, but so much like I remember you."  
  
With a self-conscious chuckle, Gohan moved away from Mirai, still floating. Mirai couldn't help the disappointed feeling when Gohan had moved away from him. It felt so good to have his master back.  
  
"Come on! Bulma's gonna want to see you and I think Vegeta will, too. With any luck, we'll catch him out of the Gravity Room. I can't wait to see Bulma's face. Right now you, well, chibi-Trunks is only eight, so is my little brother, Goten."  
  
His excitement was infectious and Mirai found himself smiling, too. Yes. It would be good to see his...sort of his parents. Mirai's mom was still in his future and she was a widow.   
  
Vegeta-  
  
Vegeta looked up from his newspaper when the two boys came flying towards the Capsule Corporation headquarters that doubled as the Brief's family home. Slowly, Vegeta set his newspaper down on the table and stood.  
  
"Woman." He called, knowing that Bulma was just in the other room. "Come here."  
  
Bulma came in, wiping her greasy hands on her overalls. "What's up?" She asked. She used one hand to brush blue/green hair out of her eyes and that left a streak of oil across her forehead, which she either didn't notice or didn't care about.  
  
Vegeta nodded slightly in the direction the two boys were coming, knowing that Bulma's weak human eyes wouldn't be able to see anything, yet. "Watch." It was a pity humans had such weak eyes, but it wasn't her fault. All humans had weak eyes. Vegeta knew humans could train themselves to be stronger, that little human, Kurrin, had, after all. Vegeta wouldn't want Bulma go to through such training, though. Discretely, Vegeta looked at Bulma, who was staring out the window. She was truly the most beautiful and intelligent human and he couldn't imagine having her hurt or worse by training. No. Humans simply weren't built for fighting.   
  
Especially not his mate.  
  
"Veggie-chan," Bulma asked, squinting her eyes to see into the clear sky. "What am I looking for?"  
  
"We have visitors. Are the brats around?"  
  
"I think they're in the back yard."  
  
"Good."  
  
It was then that Bulma could see the boys as they appeared as tiny dots on the horizon and quickly came closer and closer. Vegeta could easily see the boys as if they were standing next to him. He let no hint of expression touch his face as he looked at the future Trunks. That's what his son would look like in just a few years and Vegeta liked what he saw. The boy was strong and fast and, from what Vegeta remembered of the boy's previous visit, he was also smart.   
  
"Ah!" Bulma cried, happily and clapped her hands together as it came clear to her who the visitors were. "My baby!" She made to run to the front door when Vegeta took her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Veggie-chan? What...?"  
  
"What have you been doing? You're filthy." Vegeta used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the oil away from Bulma's forehead. "Do you want the brats to see you like that? You are the Queen of the Saiyan people, you know. Show some pride."  
  
Bulma's only reply was to kiss him lightly with a little laugh and start back for the door. Over her shoulder, Bulma said, "Lucky I have you to keep me respectable, huh? Come on, let's go see the kids!"  
  
Several days later-  
  
Gohan-  
  
Mirai and Gohan walked into Bulma's lab, bored. On summer break, Gohan had been more than happy when Mirai Trunks showed up, again appearing from the future he came from. He was especially happy to have the distraction since his big fight with Videl on the last day of school.  
  
'I didn't do anything!' Gohan thought, yet again. He had replayed the incident over and over in his mind and still couldn't figure out what had made Videl so angry. 'All that happened was that Eraser asked for help with her algebra and we were just sitting down when Videl came in fuming." That was one good thing about Videl, Gohan thought. She didn't yell, like other girls. She did, however, have a glare that could rival his mom's formidable glare.  
  
"What are you so down about?" Mirai asked, elbowing Gohan slightly.   
  
"Just thinking about Videl."  
  
"You mean that girl I saw you with? The one with the dark hair?"  
  
Gohan got even more depressed. "Yeah. She's soooooooooo mad at me and she won't tell me why." Gohan slumped to the ground and started tapping his fingers on the ground. "Let's talk about something else. So, what do you think of our world?" He tried to smile, but couldn't seem to find the emotion to put behind it.  
  
Mirai shrugged. "It's not quite what I thought it would be. It's...peaceful and quiet." He shook his head. "Strange. I guess I just have to get used to it, but I have the strongest urge to kill something."  
  
Gohan looked at Mirai worriedly and noticed, for the first time, Mirai's pensive expression. He really did look as if he needed to release some energy. He had the same irritated look that Vegeta got if he went for to long without fighting. He rather hoped Mirai didn't get to anxious to satisfy this killing urge. "Maybe a little sparring would do you good." Gohan suggested. He wasn't really afraid that Mirai would kill anyone, but...his father was Vegeta, after all.  
  
"Just goes to figure that there's no evil super villains for us to fight." Mirai muttered, irritably. "I can't remember the last time I went for so long without a good, long fight. It's been a whole week all ready!"  
  
For the first time in a long time, there were no super evil villain's bent of taking over the universe and Gohan thought about what it must be like for Trunks who'd been fighting, literally since he could walk, for survival. How dull was this world where school was the most important thing most kids their age thought about and girls seemed like the biggest threats?  
  
"Maybe my mom has something that we can do." Mirai suggested at last, though technically, the Bulma Gohan knew wasn't Mirai's mom. Bulma was Chibi Trunk's mom, but for Mirai, that was close enough. His mom had been Bulma, too, but just a different Bulma. "She always has interesting things going on in her lab. Maybe she'll let us help with something."  
  
Gohan breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped to his feet. If there was one thing that seemed to be able to counter Mirai's Saiyan love for battle, it was his intelligence. He loved inventing and mechanical things as much as his mother did. "You're welcome to ask her, I'm sure she'd love some help from someone as smart as she is, but I don't think I'd be much help. I'm not very good with that sort of thing." Gohan smiled as another idea hit him. "If she can't think of anything, do you want to go train? Piccolo has been asking me to go visit him for a while. I think he's bored being up on Kami's look out with no one to talk to but Dende." Gohan almost laughed at the thought of poor Piccolo having nothing to do up there.   
  
Of course, Piccolo took very good care of Dende, but Dende didn't like fighting. Though Piccolo was teaching Dende as best as he could, the young Namekian was far to much of a peace-lover to ever make a good fighter. Piccolo must have been going stir crazy up there. He couldn't leave, because Dende was still to young and to weak to protect himself. It was Piccolo's job to not only teach Dende to protect himself, but to make sure no one tried to hurt Dende until such time as Dende was safe on his own.  
  
"I've never trained with Piccolo." Mirai commented, scratching his head of purple hair as they make their way into the workshop that was practically hidden behind the large house that was next to the Capsule Corporation building that was on the left of the home. "Is he any good?"  
  
To the right of the Brief's home was Vegeta's all-important Gravity Room. Behind the house, right next to Chibi-Trunks' swing set, was Bulma laboratory. The laboratory itself was clean and well organized, though it had the signs of often being in use as it was where Bulma did the majority of her inventing. At the back of the laboratory was a set of doors that led to Bulma's "thinking area". It was the back part of the lab, where Bulma made all of her prototypes for future inventions.   
  
It was a well-known rule that no one was to EVER go to Bulma's thinking area. She had hinted often at having a number of dangerous inventions that were only half completed, making them all the more dangerous. She didn't even like Vegeta going back there. "Believe it or not, there's more dangerous things in this world than just fighting. I don't want to lose you so soon, Veggie-chan." While Vegeta had bristled at being told just going into the thinking area could kill him, he had listened and never once set foot in. He was arrogant, not stupid, after all.  
  
Usually, Bulma was the neatest, most organized of people, but her "thinking area" was a different story entirely. She claimed to do all her best inventing in the mess that was reaching ridiculous proportions. Bulma had never cleaned the large room as she said she'd lose ideas if she misplaced anything.   
  
Gohan chuckled at Mirai's question about Piccolo. "Didn't I ever tell you that he's the one who trained me? When I was little, my dad died for the first time. Mr. Piccolo trained me for most of my life. He's just great!" Gohan's face was open with his obvious love for the Namekian warrior. Piccolo had been a big influence on Gohan's life, so much that even as a teenager, Gohan was still dressing like the Namek he idolized, complete with the turban and orange pointy shoes.   
  
Mirai grinned at his friend. "Yeah, but is he any good? I mean, you're not the hardest person to fight, you know. He could be a real weakling."  
  
Gohan slapped Mirai on the shoulder lightly. "Try me out, pal! I say that little comment deserves a fight, at the very least!" They both smiled. Fighting, as it was for all Saiyans, was what they lived to do. It made one's blood rush and awakened all one's senses in a terrible, wonderful manner. Gohan was, perhaps, the most peaceful Saiyan ever to be born, and even he wouldn't walk away from a good fight.  
  
After looking around the empty laboratory for a minute Mirai shrugged his shoulders. "I guess mom isn't here after all. Well, let's go see this Mr. Piccolo and see if he wants to fight."  
  
They were just about to leave when both heard a crash followed by, "Whoops. Sorry, Trunks." Come from the back of the laboratory. In fact, it wasn't coming from the back of the laboratory, but the thinking area. Both teenagers stopped at the voice.  
  
"That was my little brother." Gohan said, worried. He had a good reason to be worried. Whenever Goten and Chibi-Trunks got together.  
  
"Jeeze, Goten, be careful. You don't want my mom to find us in here, she'll go nuts."  
  
Mirai and Gohan nodded at each other and started walking towards the voices. Chibi-Trunks had a tendency to get himself and his friend into trouble when they were left alone for to long, and it was for this reason that both children were forbidden to go into Bulma's lab. Chibi-Trunks was very intelligent, even as a child, and might just understand enough of Bulma's work to do something very dangerous.  
  
Mirai and Gohan were just in time to see Goten walk up into a machine that looked vaguely like Mirai's time travel machine. Both teenagers swallowed nervously. "Did your mom make another time machine?" Gohan asked, pointing to the machine.  
  
"Not that I know of." Mirai answered. "It looks a little different from the time travel machine, though." To his trained eye, there were several differences and those were just on the outside. Mirai had a great deal of experience with time travel and had even developed a working model of his own. It was still experimental, though.  
  
"Come on, Goten, let's see what this thing can do." Chibi-Trunks said enthusiastically from inside the machine. Mirai and Gohan began to walk to the machine to stop the boys from doing any damage.  
  
"But, Trunks, what do all these buttons do?" Goten asked.  
  
"Beats me. Mom won't tell me what this thing does, but I'm sure I can figure it out. After all, my mom wouldn't make anything really dangerous."  
  
The sounds of buttons being pushed and childish laughter from Goten could be heard. "Hey, Trunks, what does this button do?"  
  
"Push it and find out, dummy."  
  
With terrified expressions, Mirai and Gohan started running and quickly turned to flying toward Bulma's invention. Gohan was praying. 'Please, don't let it do anything! Please, just this once, I hope Bulma's experiment is a failure!'  
  
The machine started to glow and the door began to rise up. Gohan shouted, "Faster!" And they flew right into the machine just before the door swung closed.   
  
Goten looked up from a shiny red button marked, in big black letters, "DO NOT TOUCH!" His finger was pressing it.  
  
VEGETA-  
  
Vegeta was looking for his children and had entered the lab just in time to see the large, awkward machine his mate had been working on for quite some time vanish. At the same instant he felt the power of his children, along with Gohan and Goten, vanish.  
  
His eyes twitched.   
  
His children.   
  
The only Saiyan children in the universe.   
  
The future of his race.   
  
Gone.   
  
The King of the Saiyans threw back his head and a glow of golden energy surrounded him. "ARRRRRRRRRR!" He roared in fury. The clutter of his mate's thinking area were thrown back against the wall with the force of Vegeta's rage before they went though the wall and ended up in the backyard.  
  
GOKU-  
  
Goku was fishing when he felt the disappearance of his two children and his eyes popped open in shock for a moment. He dropped his fishing pole in the river and, in his mind, tried to find the energy signature that was unique to his son.   
  
Nothing.   
  
'This isn't good.' Goku, almost without thinking, lifted off the ground and flew up until he was above the trees of his mountain top home. It wasn't just Gohan and Goten, either. There were two other energy signatures that were missing. Big and little Trunks were gone, too. They hadn't died, it wasn't the same feeling Goku remembered feeling when his friends had died. 'It's like they just vanished.' Goten could usually be found with Trunks at Capsule Corps and Gohan had said he was visiting Mirai.'  
  
Goku, with a serious look in his usually good humored face, turned in the direction of the Brief's home and set off as fast as he could. Goku felt a surge of great power and knew that Vegeta had discovered his children missing.   
  
'Kami help whoever did this.' Goku thought. 'If Vegeta gets his hands on them, he'll kill them. If I get my hands on them first,' Goku's brown eyes flickered green for just an instant as he thought about what he'd do to anyone who'd dared to hurt or take his children. 'I'll make them hurt. I'll make them hurt a lot.'  
  
IN THE MACHINE-  
  
Chibi-Trunks looked up at his older self and Gohan. "Hi. What's going on?"  
  
Gohan slapped himself on the forehead. "What are you doing? Bulma's going to kill you when she finds out you're playing in here!"   
  
Mirai, in the meantime, was looking around the machine. Nothing terrible seemed to be happening, yet. In fact, nothing was happening at all. With a stern look at his younger self, Mirai examined the controls of the machine. This did not look good.  
  
Gohan leaned down to look at his brother. "Didn't you read the button? I'm sure Bulma wrote 'do not touch' for a very good reason."  
  
"But, Gohan," Goten looked at him with large, innocent eyes. "I couldn't read it."  
  
"You can read, don't lie!" Gohan scolded. "I taught you to read myself!"  
  
"But it's true." Trunks stuck up for his friend. "Goten's to short. He just reached up and pushed buttons at random."  
  
"What other buttons did you push, Goten?" Mirai asked from where he was staring at the control panels.   
  
Goten shrugged. "I don't know. A whole bunch of them." He sounded rather proud of this.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gohan asked Mirai, seeing his friend scowl at the computer. Gohan was rather intelligent himself, but Mirai was way beyond him when it came to this sort of technology.  
  
"If this is what I think it is, then we are in very, very big trouble."  
  
Chibi-Trunks looked at Goten. "You got us in trouble again."  
  
Goten looked like he was going to cry. "You started it. "  
  
"Did not."  
  
"Did to. You wanted to see what your mom was working on, remember? I wanted to eat, but you said you wanted to play first."  
  
Trunks, like his father, tried to show no emotion, but he did blush. Trunks covered the blush by turning away from Goten and looking at his feet, letting his purple hair fall over his face.  
  
Mirai continued, speaking more to Gohan than to the younger children. "I don't know exactly what this is, but we are traveling. This is a ship of some kind, but I don't think it's a time machine."  
  
At his words, the ship rocked violently. "What was that?" Goten clutched onto Chibi-Trunks and looked around. "Is someone attacking us?"  
  
"I don't feel any Ki, so maybe it's just someone using weapons." Gohan answered. Ki was the energy that they could all sense when they were attacked by another person. Guns and such were not really a big problem. People were problems.  
  
Another blast shook them and Gohan, seeing Chibi-Trunks and Goten staggaring unsteadily, instinctively bent down to his knees to hold onto the children when he heard a baby's wail. His eyes shot open and he looked around, confused. Under the only table in the small room was a tiny bundle in a pink cotton blanket. "Oh, no." Gohan picked the bundle up and, afraid that he all ready knew what was wrapped in the blankets, peeled back the blanket to reveal a tiny, pink face framed with blue/green curls. "Bra?"  
  
Trunks nodded. "Mom asked me to watch her for a few minutes, so I brought her along." Trunks frowned at the tiny baby. "Sisters are such a pain!" He declared.  
  
Gohan's mind was swamped with images of what Vegeta would do to him if little Bra got even the tiniest of scratches. Gohan started to sweat as thoughts of Vegeta doing terrible, horrible things to him flooded his brain. Vegeta was not evil any more, but Bra was Vegeta's little princess and he practically worshipped her. Gohan held Bra close to his chest for protection. Whatever happened, he had to get Bra home, safe and sound.  
  
Planet Vegeta in another dimension-  
  
King Vegeta-  
  
From the balcony of his castle, King Vegeta looked up at the sky of his world and examined the stars. He knew that up there Frieza's ship was lurking, skulking around Vegetasai as if waiting to move in for the kill. King Vegeta growled. He hated Frieza, as did his father, before the old man had died, but there was no one on the planet that was powerful enough to challenge the alien who had basically enslaved his people. His proud, warrior race as a slave to that purple slug thing.  
  
The thought made King Vegeta shudder. The first and last time he'd tried to defy the conqueror, ten thousand of his people, including children, were slaughtered. An example, Frieze had laughingly told him. Now, Vegeta didn't dare to challenge the authority of Frieza. What good was a freed people, if there were no people left?  
  
It was tempting, though, to order an all out assault on Frieza's ship.   
  
At least his people would die in a blaze of glory instead of in a slave's collar. Logic prevailed however, and King Vegeta waited. He waited for the prophecy to come true. The legendary Super Saiyan, who had strength unrivaled, would one day be born from the ranks of the Saiyan people. It was that warrior, King Vegeta believed, who would free them from Frieza.   
  
It was all a secret from Frieze, though. King Vegeta couldn't hide the heightened training programs, designed to encourage a super Saiyan to be created, from Frieza's agents, but he could hide the legend. No one knew King Vegeta's plan, except for his chief guard. Vegeta had told no one that he was trying to create one Super Saiyan to kill Frieza.  
  
'If only I knew how to create a super Saiyan.' King Vegeta thought, dejectedly. He was pretty sure that it had to do with more intense training, but so far that hadn't done a thing. Oh, the soldiers were stronger and faster than ever before, but still, there was no sign of the golden hair or green eyes that was the mark of a Super Saiyan. 'I admit it...I'm clueless. Maybe this was a foolish idea, but what else can I do? My whole planet couldn't destroy Frieza, but one Super Saiyan could, I'm sure of it!'  
  
"Sire." King Vegeta didn't bother to turn and face his chief guard, Kakarot. Kakarot was the only one who was allowed to wander the palace halls this time of night and the only one King Vegeta trusted to do anything of importance.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"We seem to have a shuttle heading this way."  
  
King Vegeta's expression never changed. "One of Frieza's shuttles?" They should be due for a visit shortly. The Ginyu force like to show up and "pose" for them every now and again. It was embarrassing enough to be forced to watch the little cheer leading squad, but the fact that those idiots had been the ones to conquer the Saiyans was enough to make one want to be ill.   
  
Kakarot shook his head, coming to stand next to his king. He was tall and stood almost two heads taller than his king. "No, sire. I've never seen a ship like this before. It's been attacked and is falling rather unsteadily. I expect that it was passing by and one of Frieza's men fired on it."  
  
"Any survivors?"  
  
"We're not sure, yet. It's still falling, but it will land quite close to the palace." Kakarot paused for a moment. "It seems to me that someone is trying to control the fall of the ship, so I think there must be one survivor. I don't know if they'll live through the crash, though...in fact, there it is, now." Kakarot pointed up at the night sky and indicated what seemed to be a falling star.  
  
King Vegeta watched for a moment and the shuttle came closer and closer. Soon, he could see that it was indeed a very small shuttle of some kind. The ship would tilt and then straighten itself for a moment before spinning wildly. Out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta saw Kakarot tap his scouter.  
  
"Well?" King Vegeta asked impatiently.  
  
Kakarot said nothing for a moment. "I...I believe that they have power."  
  
"You don't seem certain." That was unusual. Kakarot was a very good judge of power level and if he couldn't tell then King Vegeta was worried.  
  
"Let's see if they survive the crash and then I'll tell you once I see them in person." They watched together as the shuttle fell and fell and Kakarot's face fell with dismay when he realized where the shuttle was going to land. "My pond!" Kakarot possessed a strange fondness for fish, and as a result of him being the favorite of King Vegeta, Kakarot had a pond of fish in the royal garden. He kept trying to grow them bigger and bigger until the biggest one was now seven feet long and weighed more than two hundred pounds.  
  
King Vegeta allowed himself a moment to pat his friend's back. "I'll have another built for you."  
  
Kakarot looked like he wanted to cry. "It won't be the same!"  
  
The ship crashed violently, despite the best efforts of the pilot who was obviously trying to control it, sending up a cloud of dust and water. King Vegeta looked at Kakarot. "Shall we?"  
  
"Might as well." Both men flew off the balcony and down to the royal gardens just in time to see the door of the shuttle (which had only barely survived impact) fall open. Kakarot readied himself for battle, as any good Saiyan would, and stood next to his King. King Vegeta waited patiently until they heard voices from inside. Children's voices.   
  
"That was stupid!"  
  
"I didn't hear you offering any better suggestions." Another voice, older this time, answered. "I can't help it if this thing has no windows. How was I supposed to know we were falling?"  
  
"Let's not worry about that, is everyone all right?" This was another young voice. "Let's go see what's out there."  
  
A head with dark, spiked hair poked out of the shuttle and his gaze immediately landed on Vegeta and Kakarot. His eyes widened with shock and then he poked his head inside. "Guys, come on out. You're not going to believe this!"   
  
Kakarot whispered to King Vegeta, "They seem to have very little power, sire. Just under four hundred for that boy." Another head poked out of the shuttle entrance, this time it was a young man with straight lavender hair.  
  
"I was right." The new boy said over his shoulder, presumably to the others. "This is a different dimension, just remember everything I told you." The boy stepped out of the ship, watching them warily. "Are you going to attack us?" He didn't sound afraid, just cautious.  
  
Vegeta raised an eyebrow at the boy. He was practical, if nothing else. "Perhaps. Why are you on my world and what race do you belong to?" He wanted answers. They could be spies from Frieze, but that wasn't really Frieza's style at all.   
  
He hesitated only a moment before, "You can call me Mirai, my friends are inside. Come on out, guys." He called to the others without taking his eyes off the others. "I don't think we're in danger."  
  
Out of the shuttle came three more boys, one teenager and two children. Mirai introduced them all. "This is my, er, brother, Chibi-Trunks and his friend Goten and Goten's brother Gohan. Gohan's holding my sister, Bra."  
  
While this was going on, Goten was staring at Kakarot. "Hey, Gohan, he looks just like daddy." The child pointed at Kakarot.   
  
The boy holding the baby, Gohan, stepped in front of the child and smiled widely. "Don't listen to him! Goten, keep quiet for once, will you?" He hissed over his shoulder.  
  
King Vegeta picked up on the resemblance, though. It was pretty difficult to miss. The child Goten and his brother looked like younger versions of Kakarot. In fact, Goten was exactly like Vegeta remembered Kakarot as a child. King Vegeta slowly turned to his guard. "They do look slightly like you, Kakarot. Did you forget to tell me that you had children?" To his knowledge, Kakarot had no mate and, therefore, had no children. Gohan, for some reason, was dressed like one of those weakling Namekians, though he was clearly not one of them. In fact, most of these boys felt rather like Saiyans.  
  
That couldn't be. Two of them had purple hair and not one of them had a tail.  
  
Kakarot looked as bewildered as King Vegeta. "Not that I've noticed."  
  
Chibi-Trunks glared up at King Vegeta. King Vegeta, unused to such surliness from children, glared back. "What are you staring at, brat?" As far as he was concerned, children had no place in his palace.  
  
Chibi-Trunks crossed his arms, a habit he'd gotten from his father. "You are NOT my father!" He declared coldly.  
  
King Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "I have no children, so I can agree with that comment."  
  
Goten looked from King Vegeta to Chibi-Trunks. "How do you know, Trunks? He looks just like your dad."  
  
"My dad is a lot stronger than that geek." Chibi-Trunks sniffed and turned slightly from Vegeta with a superior smile on his face. "My dad could wipe the floor with him!"  
  
King Vegeta's eye twitched, just once, before he opened his mouth to yell, but the other child, Goten interrupted.   
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. He isn't very strong, is he." Then Goten looked at Kakarot. "He's not as strong as my dad, either. I guess they just look like our dads."   
  
King Vegeta and Kakarot, the most powerful Saiyans in the universe, stared at each other in disbelief. 


	2. Ginyu

Chapter 2  
  
Goku-  
  
When Goku arrived at the Brief's home, he found Vegeta giving a tree a death glare that would have killed a lesser tree. As well as he knew Vegeta, Goku was shocked to see that Vegeta hadn't destroyed the tree. However, it wasn't exactly a good sign. With Vegeta's temper, it really was better if he released his anger and not keep it bottled up inside. Standing with his arms crossed, as usual, the only thing that showed how truly upset Vegeta was, was that his foot was tapping uncontrollable and Vegeta didn't seem to notice that he was doing it.   
  
Goku landed lightly, slightly behind Vegeta. "What happened?" Goku asked immediately, with an abnormally serious voice. "I felt the children vanish." Goku asked this, even though he was pretty sure Vegeta didn't know what had happened. If he had, Vegeta surely wouldn't be just standing there.   
  
Goku still hadn't told Chi-Chi what the feared had happened for fear of upsetting her, in fact, he hadn't even gone home. No matter how strong and brave Chi-Chi was, Goku knew that she was really a very gentle and frail woman. If she thought her sons had been killed, it would destroy her.   
  
Vegeta didn't even look at Goku, his gaze steady on the tree outside his home as he tried to control himself. Vegeta would rather die than admit to feelings such as worry for his children. Even though the narrow set of his eyes and the vein bulging in his forehead was enough to tell anyone who looked how upset he was. Goku knew Vegeta was stubborn about his emotions, but he couldn't understand why. To Goku, there was no reason for hiding what you felt or thought.  
  
"My mate is trying to figure out what happened." Vegeta growled. "The brats were in her laboratory and they did something, but she doesn't know what, yet. I will kill them once they get home." Vegeta growled this last out and Goku knew that Vegeta was just letting off steam. He would no more hurt the children than Goku would. Vegeta's massive power was being held in check by his enormous self control, and Goku didn't miss the small stones around Vegeta's feet lifting off the ground every time Vegeta's control slipped a bit, only to be dropped once the prince of Saiyans pulled himself together.  
  
It was an odd arrangement, some people would think. For two people who used to be deadly enemies, Goku and Vegeta had created a strange relationship. They still fought, but mostly for fun. In reality, Goku had become as much of a father figure to Chibi-Trunks as Vegeta was and Goku knew full well that Gohan and Goten spent much of their time with Vegeta. In a very real way, Goku and Vegeta were both fathers to all four children.   
  
"Veggie-Chan! Goku! Come here, I've figured it out!" Both Saiyan's turned to look at Bulma who was standing in the doorway of her lab and waving to them. She looked very serious and Goku could see streaks of drying tears on her cheeks.  
  
"She was upset." Vegeta said quietly, with uncharacteristic tenderness when he looked at his wife. "When she saw the children were gone...she cried. Don't mention it to her. I don't want her to start crying again."   
  
Goku and Vegeta wasted no time in flying to her side and she led them into the lab, stepping over the debris of what was probably the result of Vegeta's finding out the children had vanished. "They used my Dimension Shifter, that big machine you saw vanish, Veggie-Chan." Bulma told them. Through the lab and to the back room, Bulma led them. "This means that they could be anywhere in any reality." Her face was grim, but she didn't start crying again. Goku knew, probably even better than Vegeta, that Bulma was a remarkably strong woman. She always had been, even when they were children. "They might be floating in empty space, for all I know."  
  
"Can we get them back?" Goku asked, keeping his voice even. He, of course, had no clue what a Dimension Shifter was, but it didn't sound good. They could always use the Dragon Balls, but it would take time to gather them up and Goku really wanted the children home. Now!  
  
Bulma gave Goku an irritated look, the one that said she thought he was insulting her somehow. "After all the time you've known me, Goku, you should know that I don't build things without ways to control them! With Trunks, I have to prepare for everything, that boy gets into more trouble than you used to!" As she was saying this, Bulma rummaged around on her desk, cluttered with papers and tiny electronic gadgets, as she searched for something. "Now, where is it?"  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You need to organize this dump."  
  
Ignoring Vegeta, Bulma suddenly found whatever she was looking for and held it up triumphantly. It looked like a TV remote control with a few buttons and controls on it.   
  
Goku's smile drooped a little and Vegeta asked, "What is that, woman?" Neither of them were great technological geniuses.   
  
"It's sort of a tracking device, like the Dragon Radar we use for tracking the Dragon Balls. I can't actually bring the Dimension Shifter back here as the kids may have left it and if they aren't in it when it gets back here, there will be no way to ever find them again." Her eyes filled with worry at the thought that she might never see her precious children again. "It's best that we use it as a sort of beacon. At least then we can find whatever world they're on with the tracking device in the Dimension Shifter."  
  
Goku trusted Bulma's word, but Vegeta saw only one problem with this. "Even if this thing can find the brats, how do we get to them?"  
  
"Oh, you silly." Bulma patted Vegeta on the cheek, one of the privileges of being mated to the sour tempered prince was being able to touch him without fear, much to his irritation. "Have faith, my darling prince. Do you really think I would invent something like a machine that can cross dimensions and not make a back-up?" Despite the devastation of the room, Bulma still seemed to know exactly where everything was. She walked to the wall of her lab and moved a painting to one side, revealing a control panel of some kind. With a push of one of the buttons on the panel, the wall moved, sliding to the side and revealing a side room with a large ship in it. "This is the spare Dimension Shifter."  
  
Goku's eyes almost popped out of his head as he realized something rather disturbing. "How many do you have hanging around the place?" For some reason it worried him that Bulma had this kind of thing hanging around.   
  
Bulma shrugged. "About as many time machines as I have hidden away, but that's not really here nor there, now is it?" She obviously didn't care to answer the question, a fact that slightly disturbed Goku. "Now, do you both want to go, or should I go on my own?"  
  
Vegeta quickly grabbed the tracker from her and said in his normal superior tone, "You are not going, woman. You would be next to useless if the brats are trapped in a battle situation and I don't need to waste my time worrying about you."  
  
For a moment, Bulma looked as if she would explode before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "All right, Veggie-Chan. I trust you. Can you remember the instructions if I give them to you? Do you want me to write them down?"  
  
"I'm bright enough to remember, thank you." Vegeta groused. He stiffened, as if he was about to do something painful. "I...Keep yourself safe. Who knows what trouble you'll get yourself into if I'm not here to take care of you."  
  
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Bulma put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you, too."  
  
Vegeta blushed and pushed himself away from Bulma, though Goku though it was cute, really. Vegeta made such a show of not caring, yet his had toned down his strength enough that he could push Bulma away without hurting her. That showed a great deal about Vegeta, Goku decided.  
  
They made ready to go, stepping into the Dimension Shifter, and Goku looked at Bulma before Vegeta closed the door. "Will you do me a favor and tell Chi-Chi what's going on if we're not back before dark? She worries."  
  
Goku stepped into the Dimension Shifter after Vegeta and, as Bulma watched, they both vanished.  
  
Alternate reality, planet Vegetasai-  
  
Gohan-  
  
They'd been in this new reality for just a day and King Vegeta had given them all leave to live in the castle until they were ready to go home. 'He seems just the same as our Vegeta.' Gohan thought as he looked down at his new clothes and pulled them to fit right.  
  
"Nameks are weak and are just begging to be conquered. I'd rather not have the insult of you dressing as one while you're my guest." King Vegeta had said when he gave Gohan a new outfit of a traditional Saiyan male. It wasn't the military uniform Gohan had first seen Vegeta in, the blue suit with armor, but it was for the civilians. Like all things Saiyan, the outfit was utilitarian rather than attractive. The material was undyed, but it was stronger than any other fabric Gohan had seen, outside of Vegeta's uniform.  
  
"We're going to have to be careful." Mirai said from where he sat on the bed. Right now they were in the room Gohan had been given and Mirai seemed to be trying to figure out a plan. "You know my father better than I do, do you think this one's at all like the Vegeta you know?"  
  
"Yes." Gohan turned away from the mirror and sat beside Mirai. "They're so alike, there's really no difference. Funny, I wonder why he's king here, but in our world, he still calls himself a prince? His father is dead in both worlds, so shouldn't our Vegeta be a king, too?"  
  
"Who knows?" Mirai lay back and stared up at the high ceiling. "We don't know anything about these people, Gohan. Aside from what little my father's told you, we have no idea how to behave or how we're going to be treated. I think one thing is pretty obvious, though."  
  
"What's that?" Gohan looked over his shoulder to the other side of the bed. It was thankfully very big, and Goten and Chibi-Trunks were both soundly asleep on the other side of bed, curled up together like puppies.  
  
"We can't let King Vegeta, or anyone else from this world, get their hands on mom's machine. I don't want to think about what would happen if legions of Saiyans started marching across Earth."  
  
"Yeah, that would be pretty bad. But," Gohan jumped up and went to look out the window at the soldiers who patrolled the castle. They were dressed just as Gohan remembered Vegeta dressing the first time they'd met. "Is it just me or do they seem a lot weaker than we thought they'd be? I always pictured all Saiyan's to be incredibly powerful. These guys all have about the same power level as an average Namekian, despite what King Vegeta says about Namekian's being weak."  
  
"They haven't had to fight Vegeta, Frieza, King Cold, several androids, Cell, and Buu." Mirai chuckled. "I guess the old saying is true. What doesn't kill me just makes me stronger. It must be especially true for Saiyans."  
  
"I don't trust them." Gohan said suddenly. "The king didn't give any reason for letting us stay and I don't think he's the type who would do that for just anyone." He didn't like being distrusting, but Piccolo had trained him well. There had to be a reason for all this generosity and Gohan wanted to know what the price for all this would be.  
  
"That just shows how smart you are." Mirai said easily.   
  
Frankly, Gohan rather thought King Vegeta was curious about them and what the other Vegeta was like and he was trying to figure out a way to ask. Mirai had also, once they were alone, warned Gohan against letting Goten and Chibi-Trunks be alone for to long. They definitely needed a baby sitter and, since Mirai was the only one capable of repairing the machine that had brought them here, it fell to Gohan to keep the two boys out of trouble along with keeping Bra safe.  
  
The two boys were both sound asleep on the large bed, curled up against each other while Bra was asleep laying next to Trunks. She was still so small and Mirai seemed fascinated with her ever since their arrival. Gohan had to remind himself that this was the first time Mirai had ever seen his sister. At that thought, Bra woke up with a wail.  
  
Gohan picked her up and cradled her close to him. Luckily, this wasn't this first time he'd been stuck baby-sitting. "Bra is getting hungry, again, and she's got the legendary Saiyan appetite. I suppose this food must be safe, it's what your father grew up eating, after all." Gohan tried again to comfort Bra who was fussing for food, but she was very stubborn and demanded what her stomach wanted. Luckily, Bra was just old enough that she'd stopped nursing, for which Bulma said she was eternally grateful, and could eat some solid foods.   
  
"They've left us some fruit." Mirai stood up and went to a table laid out with a generous amount of food, which he examined carefully before choosing a lumpy purple fruit and took a bite. It was one of the nicer things about a planet full of Saiyans. Every table in the palace was stocked full of food, continuously being filled as guests and the royal family ate. Mirai chewed for a bit and finally nodded, deciding that it was safe. "It tastes kind of like a peach. We'll have to soften it for her first, since she doesn't have many teeth, but it should be fine. I think."  
  
"You think?" Gohan asked, worriedly taking the fruit from Mirai and crushing it in his hand until light blue juice ran down his arm. "Well, I hope you're right. If anything happens to Bra your father's going to pull my intestines out through my nose and he won't be gentle about it."  
  
As Gohan carefully fed Bra, keeping fingers well away from her ravenous mouth, he thought that this was a very weird place. Gohan tried to think of his father coming from this world, or at least, one very much like this world. Difficult. Even his father's double, Kakarot, wasn't what Gohan had expected him to be. He wasn't as vile tempered as many of the other Saiyan's appeared to be, but he was far more serious than Goku and acted slightly more intelligent. He was King Vegeta's best friend and main bodyguard. They acted like friends, not rivals, though Kakarot was definitely King Vegeta's servant and Gohan had a hard thinking of his dad as being anyone's servant.   
  
The palace guards, when they weren't guarding, spent most of their time training, though Gohan thought Mr. Piccolo fought harder than the guards did. Heck, Gohan knew he'd fought better when he was eight!  
  
"Gohan," Mirai said, pulling Gohan out of his thoughts. "I'm going to go work on the ship. We should get out of here as soon as possible. He headed for the window that overlooked the courtyard where the ship had crash landed and looked down at it. "I'm going to do my best to keep the Saiyans away from it, just in case they get a little to curious." Mirai floated up in the air and was about to fly out the window when he looked at Gohan over his shoulder. "By the way, the boys are gone."  
  
Gohan looked sharply back at the bed, hoping that Mirai was joking, but, to Gohan's horror, the bed was indeed empty and the door that led to the hallway ws standing open. "Oh, no." Gohan groaned before, still carrying Bra who was sucking the last of the blueish juice from Gohan's fingers, he dashed away, desperate to find the two children before they got themselves into trouble. 'No, not now. Not here. Please, let them keep out of trouble until I find them.' Gohan thought. Gohan took off in search of the mischievous duo, trying to pick up their ki as he wandered the palace halls.   
  
He hadn't gone more than a dozen paces, though, before he heard Goten's voice call out. "Gohan!"   
  
Gohan looked up at the yell to see both Goten and Chibi-Trunks running down the hall at him, both looking excited and a little worried. "It grew back, Gohan!" Chibi-Trunks yelled. "Just now, it grew back!"  
  
Both boys turned and showed him their backsides and Gohan almost had a heart attack when he saw their tails, protruding from the top of their pants. Still, he had to keep a level head. It was his responsibility to look after the boys. "No problem, don't worry." Putting Bra in the crock of one arm, Gohan took a hold of Goten's tail. "Just hold still, Goten. This might hurt a bit."  
  
"Stop!" Everyone looked up at the yell to see King Vegeta looking furious and disgusted. "What do you think you're doing?!" He demanded from Gohan as he stalked closer.  
  
"Um, I...Well, I'm going to take their tails off." Gohan answered, thinking that perhaps he should have waited until he could have gotten them somewhere private instead of a hallway before he tried to take their tails. Maybe Mirai would let Gohan use his sword. Now that he thought about it, back when he first met Vegeta, Vegeta did seem to get upset when he thought of Saiyans without tails.  
  
King Vegeta's eyes almost popped out of his head. "YOU WHAT!!!"   
  
Gohan tried not to sweat and remember that this was not the Vegeta he knew. This one wasn't nearly so powerful, though he was just as intimidating, he wasn't a real threat to their lives. "Well, we all had our tails removed when we were kids so if they grow back, we just take them off..." Gohan stopped talking and he bit his lip. "Oh, no." He mumbled. The place right above his butt was itching and he'd felt this before. He knew what was coming. A sudden jolt of pain and his tail was back, again, ripping through his pants. "Oh, man!" He whined. Now he was going to have to have Mirai rip his tail off! How embarrassing!  
  
Goten giggled. "You ripped your pants, Gohan. I can see your butt!" He pointed and fell on the floor laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world.  
  
"You never told me you were Saiyans!" King Vegeta said. "Why did you hide this?" King Vegeta just stared at them. "Who removed your tails?" He asked, acidly, as if the very thought were sacrilege. The king walked around them, examining them from all angles, his eyes resting on Chibi-Trunks' purple hair and the purple threads in the fur on Chibi-Trunks tail.  
  
"My mom." Chibi-Trunks said, not missing the king's look. "She took mine and Goten's off when we were born and Piccolo took off Gohan's when he was little. It's just so we won't turn into big monkeys." Chibi-Trunks swished his tail around, wrapping around his waist like a belt as his father used to do.   
  
"Big monkeys? Were you raised by savages? We are not big monkey's we transform into Ozaro's, one of the greatest forms a Saiyan can have. It's a glorious time and should be reveled in. I can't believe you just let your tails be pulled off." King Vegeta said, shuddering in disbelief. "What kind of mother do you have to have purple hair, anyway? All Saiyans have brown hair."  
  
"A great mom." Chibi-Trunks answered, his eyes narrowing as he thought he heard an insult against his mom. "She's the smartest person in the whole universe."  
  
King Vegeta took a deep breath, calming himself before he growled, "I forbid you to remove your tails while you're here. That...that's the most horrible thing I've ever heard of!" Taking off a child's tail to prevent their glorious transformation? What insanity! "Are you telling me that, in your reality, I allowed your tails to be removed by your insane mother?"  
  
Chibi-Trunks bristled at someone calling his mother insane, but before he could say anything, another voice answered.  
  
"Not only did you, your other self, allow it, but you tried to take off Gohan's tail yourself and a rather pitiful creature named Yajarobi sliced your tail off with a sword. In our reality, you're walking around completely tail-less."   
  
Everyone turned to see Mirai standing in the hall, his arms crossed over his chest and grinning at the king. Mirai's tail had also grown back and it was swaying gently as if it had a mind of its own. "Don't call my mother names, your majesty. She might not have been a Saiyan, but she is a brilliant woman and the one your other self chose as a mate." Mirai's eyes narrowed, dangerously.  
  
King Vegeta looked like he was going to be ill. "An alien? I took an alien as a mate?"  
  
Mirai turned to Gohan. "Let them keep their tails if it'll keep the peace, Gohan. It won't hurt anything and we'll take them off before we go home."  
  
Gohan frowned. "Are you sure about that? What if..."  
  
"Your majesty," Mirai turned to King Vegeta. "When is the next full moon?"  
  
"In about three years."  
  
"Oh." Gohan said, understanding what Mirai was talking about. Vegetasai only had a full moon once every seven years and surely they'd be away from here before the three years were up. "Well, I guess it's all right, then."  
  
"In the meantime," Mirai told Gohan again. "I need more help repairing the ship than I thought I would. Can we trust them," He pointed at Goten and Trunks. "To keep out of trouble if you help me?"  
  
"No." Gohan answered easily, knowing how much trouble the two would get into. "But we don't have much choice, do we? You two," He looked at the two younger children. "Keep yourself out of mischief or I'm gonna tell our moms and you'll catch it when we get back."  
  
Chibi-Trunks grumbled. "IF we get back."  
  
But Goten, ever cheerful and optimistic, patted his friend's back. "Don't worry. I'm sure my daddy or yours will find us, soon." He said with his usual faith. "Let's play!"  
  
"What? We're lost in another dimension and you want to play? Geeze, Goten, you're such a baby, sometimes."  
  
"Can you think of anything better?"  
  
"Good point." The two boys ran off and Gohan couldn't quite help the feeling of dread that grew in his stomach as they watched the children leave.  
  
Later that day-  
  
The Ginyu force saw the crippled ship when they landed in the courtyard of the royal palace. "What's that?" Jheese, the long haired pretty-boy of the group, asked Captain Ginyu, pointing at the bizarre looking ship.  
  
"No clue." The horned captain, Ginyu, told his crew. Captain Ginyu was justifiably proud of his force and wanted to let them have this petty amusement. They were the strongest fighting force in the known universe and they served the greatest warlord around. Perhaps there would be someone for them to torment other than the usual, predictable Saiyans. They all listened and heard voices coming from out of the ship. "Let's go see, shall we? Someone reported shooting down a shuttle yesterday, didn't they?"  
  
They all approached the little shuttle with great confidence. "King Vegeta shouldn't be hiding guests from us, now should he?" Reacoom said mockingly. Reacoom and Buta were the two largest, most massive members of the Ginyu force. They all shared the same opinion of Saiyans, even King Vegeta. They were weak animals who deserved nothing better than to be leashed and muzzled.   
  
It was the smallest member of the Ginyu force, Gurd, who noticed suddenly saw a pair of boots sticking out from under the shuttle. Someone was humming tunelessly as he worked and Gurd kicked one of the booted feet. "Get out here, worm! Don't you know enough to respect your betters?"  
  
The humming stopped and an irritated voice called out from under the ship. "Gohan!"  
  
From inside the ship they heard another voice, "What?"  
  
"Someone's out here. Who is it?"  
  
A head with short, dark hair looked out and blinked at them. He looked Saiyan to Captain Ginyu's eyes, except that his hair had been cut as short as a Saiyan womans. For some reason, only Saiyan women cut their hair short, while the men let their hair grow long. The young man gave them a look of mild irritation. "It's just the Ginyu force. You want me to blast them?"  
  
The person who was working under the ship slid out and looked up at them. He was a purple haired young man with a serious face that was covered in grease and other mess from working on the ship. If it weren't for the tail wrapped around his waist, Captain Ginyu never would have believed this purple haired boy was a Saiyan. He must be a mutant.  
  
Now that he had an audience, Captain Ginyu was in paradise. He sent his force into an elaborate show of poses and the most intimidating war cries they had. When they'd finished ten minutes of posing, Captain Ginyu looked down to see what kind of impression they'd made.  
  
The brown haired kid had gone back into the ship and the purple haired kid was back under the ship, humming while he worked. Both were obviously quite unimpressed.  
  
Captain Ginyu's was in shock. How dare someone not fear him? "Come out here, you little brats!"  
  
The boy in the ship shouted, "Go away, we're busy! Come back later."  
  
The one under the ship, however, stuck a hand out from where he was working and pointed at them with one finger. "Final Flash."  
  
The Ginyu force died in one flare of power that would have done Vegeta Briefs proud.  
  
Mirai muttered. "No one calls me a brat except my father."  
  
King Vegeta-  
  
King Vegeta had seen the whole thing. His mouth was open in shock. That was not possible. It just wasn't possible. All Frieza's greatest fighters died from that boy's finger in one great moment? How had he gotten such power?   
  
'I knew there was something unusual about them.' King Vegeta's mouth slowly twisted into a smile. 'I'll get that power. I'll learn and gain the power this boy has. Then...then I'll kill Frieza.'  
  
Chibi-Trunks-  
  
"I'm tired of hide and seek. How about another little game?" Chibi Trunks asked Goten as they wandered through the palace.  
  
"What kind of game?"  
  
"Well, we haven't played Ki Tag in a long time."  
  
King Vegeta-  
  
King Vegeta was walking to find Kakarot when he happened to see the two smaller children flying in the air above the practice field. He stopped for a moment to focus on the purple haired boy. What kind of mate did he have to produce a child with purple hair? Had he taken an alien, of all things? If the older boy, the one who'd single handedly destroyed the entire Ginyu force without breaking a sweat, then perhaps he should look for mates outside his own race. To produce children of such raw power might be an advantage. If he could raise one long enough to get rid of Frieze, then he'd gladly give up his throne to such a child.  
  
But, it would be more to his advantage if he could get Mirai to show him how he'd gained such power.  
  
It pleased him to see how strong the Mirai was. Maybe it was time he took a mate, after all. Kakarot had been telling him for a while that he should have an heir soon, before Frieze finally killed him. King Vegeta watched the two smaller children fly around the courtyard, barely interested in the games of such weak children. Of course, they both flew quite well, for their age. Well, one of them was, in a way, HIS son, after all, so of coarse he was strong.  
  
King Vegeta's eyes almost fell out of his head when they began to 'play'. They're power levels had just jumped to almost 10 thousand each as they fired blasts of power at each other. That was NOT possible!  
  
The palace soldiers, the best fighters on all of Vegetasai, watched the children play-fight. The children zapped around the sky above the courtyard with incredible speed and fired blasts of energy at each other. The Saiyan elite starred as the children played using more power than most warriors fought with. Until the lavender haired child got in a lucky blow, sending the other child to the ground and creating a large crater in the ground.  
  
"Is he dead?" One of the Saiyans asked, looking down at the child. The little boy was still for a moment before sitting up, apparently unhurt, and glaring at his friend.  
  
"No fair, Trunks! You cheated!"  
  
Chibi-Trunks stuck his tongue out. "Don't act like a baby, Goten. You're just weak, that's all."  
  
To the shock of everyone, Goten jumped up in the air and with flared into a super Saiyan. Everyone jumped back with fear, confusion, and almost reverence. No one had seen a super Saiyan in many hundreds of years, that it should happen to this little child was...unthinkable.  
  
To add to everyone's surprise, Trunks flared into Super Saiyan, too. They started fighting again and none of the warriors could take their eyes off the action.  
  
King Vegeta was trying to stay calm but not doing very well. How did this happen? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the older boys, Gohan, walking down the hall toward him. King Vegeta reached out without warning and grabbed the boy's arm.   
  
Gohan, surprised, just looked at him. "Huh?"  
  
"How did they learn that?" King Vegeta demanded. "How did children learn to go Super Saiyan?" He was nearly yelling in the boy's face.  
  
Gohan looked out the window at where all the action was happening and he sighed. "I give them a few directions and do they listen? No, of course not. Told them to keep a lid on the power, but they just had to...oh, never mind." After talking to himself for a minute, Gohan looked back at King Vegeta. "I'm sorry. Are they disturbing your men?" He settled the baby more comfortably in his arms. "I'll take care of it. I guess there's no reason to hide it anymore."  
  
Before King Vegeta's eyes, Gohan flared gold and burst into Super Saiyan, his hair spiking up in gold and his eyes turning from brown to green. He flew out the window and up to the boys.  
  
"Guys, cool it." He tried to be nice and calm, but when the children didn't even look at him, Gohan sent a wave of energy out that knocked them both back about ten feet and shook the earth.  
  
Both looked at him as if they hadn't noticed he was there before. "What is it, Gohan?" Goten asked.  
  
"The King wants you to cool it down. Everyone's staring." He pointed down to the crowd below.  
  
All three powered down and flew back to the window where King Vegeta was still watching. Goten was happy enough to comply, but Chibi-Trunks glared at King Vegeta before sneering. "Weakling."  
  
King Vegeta's eyes went wide. He knew it was true, if the boy was a super Saiyan then he was, technically, stronger. Still, his pride was prickled by being insulted by a child.  
  
At this point, Mirai walked up behind Chibi-Trunks and slapped the back of his head. "Knock it off."  
  
Chibi-Trunks glared at him, rubbing the back of his head where Mirai had hit him. "Well, he is. I can beat anyone on this planet!"  
  
Mirai looked down at him. "Anyone?" He asked in a dangerously quiet voice.   
  
Chibi-Trunks, seeing the look on Mirai's face, gulped. "Well, maybe not you..."  
  
"Maybe you need more advanced training." Mirai replied. "I'm to busy right now, but I'm sure father will be interested to know how arrogant you are becoming."  
  
"Father is arrogant, too!"  
  
"Yes, but he has a right to be."  
  
Continued...  
  
Reviews, please. 


	3. Frieza

Chapter 3  
  
Vegeta-  
  
Vegeta hated being with Kakarot, or Goku, as most people called him. It wasn't really for the reason everyone seemed to think. Sure, jealously was apart of it. After all, Vegeta was expected to be the best. His father had always pressed him to surpass the very warriors who were supposed to be Vegeta's bodyguards. What sense was there in having bodyguards who were weaker than you, though?  
  
'He always acts like an idiot.' Vegeta glared at the sleeping Goku. That was the whole problem with their not-so-good relationship. Though he acted like an idiot whose brain cells had melted and dripped out one ear in the middle of the night, Kakarot looked just like any Saiyan soldier Vegeta remembered from his home world. The serious, proud soldiers who prided themselves would have been embarrassed at the comparison between them and Kakarot. In truth, it was only looking at Kakarot that Vegeta could remember Vegetasai.   
  
Much to Vegeta's sorrow, the more time that passed, the more Vegetasai grew dim in his memory. He was starting to forget the little things he thought would never fade from his mind: his father's favorite meal, his youngest sisters' bell-like laugh. He even found himself trying to remember first and only night he'd watched the full moon rise at his father's side.   
  
It was a glorious day in ever young Saiyan's life, the first moon rise. Vegeta had been four when his father had brought him out to a hill outside the castle and had put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder as the silver moon crept up over the horizon. "This is it, my son." King Vegeta had said, his voice deep with emotion. "Don't blink your eyes and don't say a word. Just let it come." And Vegeta had, reveling in the feeling of wild abandonment as he completely let go of his full Saiyan heritage.  
  
'Even that's gone, now.' Vegeta thought. He no longer had a tail thanks to that horrible little human who'd cut it off. 'I still have to find him and kill him.' Vegeta reminded himself as an after thought. It didn't help Vegeta's pride that his children had their tails removed at birth. After all, the full moon rose ever month on Earth, not every seven years on Vegetasai. It would cost to much money and lives to allow Saiyans to have their ozaro form. 'As if money or human lives mean anything when it comes to pride and honor. The woman wanted it this way, though...and I never can resist her anything.'  
  
Vegeta focused again on Kakorot and saw the legions of proud warriors, ready to embark on a new mission and crossing one arm over their chests, begging for the king's blessing for the endeavor. It was ceremonial, really. Of course the king would wish his troops well on their mission, the success of their mission meant food, clothes, and life itself for the Saiyan people. They weren't a people meant for creating their own technology or science, so fighting really was the only possible life for them.   
  
It was the nature of the Saiyan people to lust for battle. Vegeta didn't understand it, he'd never thought about it until he'd encountered humans. No. That was a lie. Vegeta had never thought about his people's desire for violence before he'd met Bulma. It was only when the blue haired female had entered his life that Vegeta had any thoughts for anything other than battle.   
  
His thoughts turned to mating and children, which had suddenly become just as important as fighting, if not more so. After all, children were the future of the doomed Saiyans. Kakorote's sons, Gohan and Goten, as well as Vegeta's beloved children, Trunks and Bra, were the only Saiyans who would live to carry on the race and they weren't even fully Saiyan.  
  
  
  
There would be no more Saiyans after Vegeta and Kakarot died. The children would, most likely, interbreed with humans and the Saiyan blood would fade away.  
  
Perhaps.  
  
Perhaps not. The human blood actually seemed to make the children stronger, so perhaps more human blood would make them stronger still. 'I'll have to ask Bulma. She understands this all far better than I do.'  
  
It saddened Vegeta more than he would ever admit to know how his proud race had fallen. Once the greatest fighters in the universe, fallen to slaves and now merely two refugees on a backwater rock in the middle of nowhere. The whole race of Saiyans now reduced to only two full-bloods and four half-bloods. It was worse than insulting or degrading. It was...it was...worth tears. For the death of his people, Vegeta could have broken down in tears, had he not been so proud. The only hope he had was that the children, for all that they had traces of human in them, were all stronger than their fathers. Rather, they had the potential to be stronger. Perhaps, with the death of the Saiyan people, the birth of a new race would bring great pride.   
  
Vegeta recognized, when he took an outsiders look at his dead people, that Saiyans were self-destructive. Evolution had made a mistake when creating them and it seemed to be trying to correct that mistake. 'We were to violent for our own good. If we had been less addicted to our own power or less in love with fighting for fighting's sake, we would have been even greater. Not that I would ever change our history even if I were able to.' He paused and looked again at Kakarot. 'Our children will be greater. They will be the start of a new race and that race will rule the universe as Saiyan's once did.'  
  
Yes. Perhaps it was time to stop looking at Kakarot and seeing the past. It was time to start looking at the children and to see the future.  
  
'My Trunks will be a great warrior, but he's as smart as his mother. Saiyans were never great scientists or thinkers. With Chibi-Trunks, his people will never have to sell themselves to other races for technology or medicine.' Goten was so much like his father, almost identical to the man Vegeta was now traveling with. 'His love of fighting is unmatched, he'll be a good soldier to help my son when he is king. After all, Trunks is the crowned prince, it was only right that he should lead this new race.' Gohan, who had been a disappointment at first, in Vegeta's eyes, was starting to look valuable. 'He wants to be a teacher, does he? Well, a new race will need teachers. He'll make our race smarter. We'll have a whole society of fighters and intellectuals. Our children will rule.'  
  
"Vegeta,"  
  
Vegeta was jolted out of his thoughts by Kakarot's voice and he looked at his companion irritably. Again, in Kakarot's brown eyes, Vegeta saw the past. He saw the whole of his lost society, a civilization destroyed at the whim of that lizard creature, Frieze. He saw a lucky escapee, who'd never known life as a slave and had never had to feel the pain of losing everything in one terrible blow. Not just his father, not just his sisters, not just his home...everything. Kakarot had grown up happy and stupid on a world where there was no doubt about his strength and he wasn't hated for it. He was admired by the simple Earthlings and made into a hero.  
  
"What is it, Kakarot?" Vegeta turned away. He didn't want to see what might have been had he and Kakarot changed lives. He didn't want to see that in another life he and Kakarot might have been comrades and even gone on missions together, competing in the Pit for the glories all great warriors received.   
  
No.  
  
Better not dwell on the past.  
  
"How well do you think this thing works?" Kakarot poked and prodded at the control panels. "I know Bulma's a great inventor, but a dimension hopper? I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the basket, but this does seem kind of...weird."  
  
This coming from a man who never noticed he turned into an ozaro every month until he was almost fourteen years old and then someone had to tell him before he realized it.  
  
"The woman always knows what she's doing." Vegeta replied with complete faith. "Just shut up and go to sleep. I don't want to listen to your voice if I don't have to, it's bad enough we're both trapped in here together. Don't touch anything, I don't want you fouling it up."  
  
Vegeta, made curious Kakarot's question, went to look at the complicated control panels. He'd been given all kinds of instructions on how to use the machine, especially on how to bring it safely back to Earth. He knew what buttons to push and what levers to pull even though Bulma had said 'My woman's machine seemed to be working properly. I think. She told me exactly what to do and I followed all her instructions, but it's hard to tell. Bulma's mind works a little differently than most people. She has a unique way of thinking and it's a little hard to understand her sometimes. Still, she said when we reached where we were supposed to be the red light on the third panel would flash and it was flashing right now.  
  
Kakarot had been serious when we'd started out, but now that he was relatively certain the children we going to be safe, he was getting back to his normal self. How irritating. Currently, he had his ear pressed against the side of the machine. "I can't hear anything. Do you think we're there, yet?"  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes and struggled to remain calm. 'He was standing right next to me when Bulma explain the workings of this machine. I KNOW he's not as stupid as he acts, so why does he do this? I'll bet he's trying to push me over the edge. Yes, that's it. He's trying to drive me mad.' Finally, he said, "No. The woman said we'd land when the red light stopped flashing and the green light came on. The red light just means we're stopped crossing dimensions." Vegeta told Kakarot with a low growl.  
  
"Ohhhhhh." Kakarot replied, making his eyes look as wide as possible. "Then we've landed, right?"  
  
"You idiot! What did I just tell you? Not until..."  
  
Kakarot pointed over Vegeta's head and Vegeta the pointed finger with his eyes, looking up to see the green light glowing brightly, right above his head. 'Yes, he's definitely trying to drive me mad.'  
  
Still, before they opened the door, Kakarot turned serious again and Vegeta could tell that the taller Saiyan was readying himself for battle. There was no telling what they would find on the other side of the door. "Bulma said the kids could have ended up in open space." Kakarot said just before Vegeta pushed the button that would open the door. "Is there any way to tell where we are before the door opens?"  
  
"No." That was a bit of a daunting thought. If they were in empty space, they would probably be lost forever or, more likely, die of asphyxiation the moment the doors opened.  
  
Neither of them flinched away from their duty. "Right." Kakarot nodded. "I just wanted to know. Open the door."   
  
When they opened the door and saw where they'd ended up, Vegeta couldn't hide his shock. He stared in open amazement at the fortress-like castle that stood only a short distance away. More mind numbing than the sight of the castle was the feel in the air.  
  
On Earth, Vegeta had learned to sense power levels with his ki. He had gotten used to the feel of millions of Earthlings and their low levels with a few high levels mixed in. Most of those high levels were the people Vegeta associated with on a daily routine. He had learned to ignore the low levels, they just weren't worth noticing, after all. Here, though, Vegeta could feel millions of powerful levels. It was like...like being surrounded by an uncountable number of butterflies, all beating their wings against your skin. Vegeta could almost feel the power of the Saiyan people.  
  
"Someone's coming." Kakarot muttered and Vegeta knew it was true. The feeling of power that tickled along his skin was getting closer. "I suppose they saw us land."  
  
"Or felt us." Vegeta added. The power of the Saiyan's approaching really wasn't anything to worry about.   
  
Goku-  
  
Goku had never seen such a force in his life and he wondered what Vegeta thought about all this. Fifteen years ago, Goku would have found the twenty soldiers intimidating, but now he knew he was in no danger from them. Vegeta, the moment they'd stepped out of the Dimension Shifter, had gotten a look on his face that Goku had never seen there before. It was a look of unabashed wonderment.  
  
"What is it?" Goku asked. It was a nice enough looking planet, but clearly it wasn't Earth. It just felt wrong. Goku had known since his earliest memories that Earth had a particular pulse, a rhythm that was distinctly Earth and could never be duplicated. This planet had it's own signature pulse, too. Deep inside, Goku felt something...stir.   
  
It was something Goku hadn't felt since his first meeting with Raditz and then at the arrival of Vegeta and Napa, but those times had been only a brief spark whereas this feeling was something far more powerful. It was like...like he had finally come home. It felt like this planet was pulling at Goku and, though Goku loved Earth dearly, this place felt so much like home.  
  
"Vegeta..." Goku said, not quite sure how to describe what he was feeling.  
  
Vegeta didn't seem to need any encouragement to speak, for once. "Our people were born on this world. We belong here, not on Earth." Vegeta stepped down onto the ground and closed his eyes for a moment. "Home." He gave Goku a small smirk that wasn't nearly so bitter as Goku was used to seeing from his friend. "Welcome to Vegetasai."  
  
  
  
Goku believed Vegeta, Vegeta would have no reason to lie, after all. He certainly wouldn't lie about the planet and people he was so proud of.  
  
The Saiyan soldiers flew in, in full armor of traditional blue and silver, all of them landing with black looks on their faces. Being Saiyan's, not one of the soldiers carried a weapon, their bodies were considered their weapons. Vegeta had made that very clear to Goku on many occasions, telling him that real Saiyan warriors didn't use weapons.  
  
A whole horde of Saiyan warriors with traditional uniforms and scouters attached to their faces, stood in front of them, but their threatening postures were short lived. They dropped their guard at the sight of Vegeta and one of them stepped forward. "Y-your majesty?"  
  
If Vegeta was at all surprised, he didn't let it show. Instead, he raised his chin proudly. "What?"  
  
"Ah..." The soldier looked at Vegeta up and down, apparently puzzled by Vegeta's clothes, which shouldn't have been all that much of a surprise since Vegeta was still in his khaki trousers and a t-shirt. There wasn't likely to be anything like that on Vegetasai.  
  
Vegeta-  
  
Naturally, Kakarot chose to ruin the wonderfully tense moment.  
  
"Ohhhhh, Veggie," Kakarot said from behind Vegeta. "Look at all the people."  
  
'He CAN NOT be as stupid as he wants me to think he is! It's just not possible!'  
  
The soldier gave Kakarot an odd look, but said nothing before turning back to Vegeta and bowing slightly. "Your majesty, we thought you were still at the castle. Frieze," He spit the name. "Has just sent a message and plans to arrive in just a few hours, he seeks an audience with you. Those visitors killed his Ginyu force and I guess Frieze was starting to get curious about where they'd gotten to." The Saiyan gave a smirk that must be a genetic trait of all Saiyans. "I think we ought to keep those children, sire. They aren't only powerful, but they're also useful in getting rid of pests. You don't need to worry about parents for them, several soldiers under my command have all ready expressed interest in fostering them. The little boy with purple hair is very much like a real Saiyan, anyway."  
  
Purple hair?  
  
Vegeta and Kakarot both started at the remark about a boy with purple hair. That could only be one person, Trunks. Indeed, as Vegeta felt out with his mind, he found Trunk's ki signature as well as Mirai's ki. They were both at a resting level, which meant whatever trouble there had been had all ready been dealt with. 'Of course, they are my sons, so naturally they didn't have any difficulties.' Vegeta thought. He couldn't deny  
  
Almost more importantly than the safety of the children was the other name mentioned. Frieza. Vegeta felt his breath catch at the name Frieza. His fear of the disgusting alien had long since faded away, since Vegeta's power had increased so much, but he couldn't help the memories that Frieza's name conjured. In truth, Vegeta had few real memories of his family and his home world. He'd been taken from them when he was very young and forced into a life of slavery by that lizard, Frieza. The torment of serving the demented Frieza wasn't nearly so bad as what his henchmen had done to Vegeta.  
  
At first Frieza had only forced Vegeta to do menial tasks, such as cleaning and serving food to the 'real' warriors. He'd worked Vegeta like a servant until he'd thought he'd broken Vegeta's vast pride.   
  
For all his power, though, Frieza didn't understand Saiyans. He didn't understand that you couldn't break a Saiyan's pride. It just wasn't possible. Little Vegeta had suffered the humiliation of being made to wait hand and foot on not only Frieza, but also on Frieza's prized fighters, the Ginyu force. Cowards and bullies had laughed at him, he'd spent days scrubbing the floors of Frieza's base, he'd been made a laughing stock among people who wouldn't have stood a chance against an adult Saiyan, and it had only made him stronger. Vegeta had kept his strength and his desire for vengeance under control for many years until Frieza had decided to have Vegeta train as a fighter. After all, he was a Saiyan and what was a Saiyan good for, if not fighting?  
  
'So, the Ginyu are dead, huh?' Vegeta thought. Of course he knew, in his own world, that the Ginyu force had been destroyed, but the knowledge that they had existed in this dimension had re-ignited Vegeta's desire for death. He wasn't sorry about the loss of opportunity to kill the Ginyu force, he had his eyes on a better target. 'This time, I'll put an end to Frieza, myself.'  
  
Vegeta opened his mind, reaching out to feel all the power around. It was quite simple to find the power of the children and Vegeta knew they were at the castle. At least, they were where the castle was in his memory. All the better, at least Vegeta knew they were all together.   
  
"He's up." Kakarot muttered, softly enough so the Saiyan's wouldn't hear him.   
  
Frieza was, indeed, still up in space, though his power level was coming closer and closer, at a leisurely pace.  
  
"I wouldn't want to keep our good lord Frieza waiting." Vegeta said to the soldiers. "Why don't we all head back to the castle?" He couldn't help the tiny smirk and really didn't care if anyone saw it or not.  
  
Kakarot followed as Vegeta and the soldiers took off, flying towards the castle, for once keeping his mouth shut.  
  
'I wonder what he thinks of all this.' Vegeta wondered idly, not that he'd actually ask. 'Is he impressed? Disappointed? He's never seen Vegetasai before, so I wonder...what did he expect it to be like?' Vegeta knew that Kakarot loved Earth, loved it enough to die for it more than once. He knew the pull Kakarot was feeling, the surge of 'rightness' that this was where he belonged. It was the same for all species and their homeworld, even Earthlings would feel the same way if they were able to leave their planet. 'I wonder if he wishes he grew up on Vegetasai instead of Earth? He's never said any such thing, but has he ever wanted to know what it would have been like if he'd grew up as the warrior he was meant to be? Of course, if he hadn't grown up on Earth, he'd have died like all the other Saiyans.' Vegeta turned his attention away from Kakarot. 'I suppose I'll never understand him. He's to much like a human, really.'  
  
Still, Kakarot had his talents. "Kakarot,"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Contact your oldest brat and tell him we're here. I think I'd like to surprise Frieza."  
  
Chibi-Trunks-  
  
Chibi-Trunks did not like Frieza.  
  
He hadn't even been born when his dad and Goten's dad fought and killed Frieza, but seeing the lizard-like person sitting on King Vegeta's throne, Chibi-Trunks could understand why Frieza was so hated. Not feared. 'He's not all that tough.' Chibi-Trunks thought from where he watched the lizard alien from behind a heavy curtain.  
  
Goten giggled. "He's wearing lipstick!" Goten tried to stifle the giggle behind his hand, but he didn't quite manage it. "Gohan told me all about him, but he just looks silly."  
  
Chibi-Trunks had to agree with Goten. It was hard to believe that their dads and Gohan had ever been weak enough to feel threatened by this...whatever he was. "Shhh." Chibi-Trunks hissed. "I want to hear what they're saying."  
  
In the throne room all of the Saiyan guards wore icy, implacable expressions as the alien conqueror lounged on the throne of their king and mocked them with his very presence.  
  
"I was most surprised to find that my men had been killed." Frieza said. "More than surprised, really. I hadn't thought you had anyone on this little rock that was strong enough to defeat even my lowliest of warriors." He looked at King Vegeta with a deceptive smile. "Have you been hiding warriors from me?"  
  
"Of course not." King Vegeta replied with something very like hate in his voice. "How would I be able to hide a warrior powerful enough to kill all the Ginyu force from you?"  
  
"True." Frieza said thoughtfully.  
  
Mirai suddenly appeared next to Chibi-Trunks and whispered, "Don't make a sound."  
  
"Mirai?" Chibi-Trunks said, surprised. "What's going on? Why don't we just blast him like you did to those weird posing guys?" He couldn't understand why his older self was being so reluctant to fight. "He's not THAT strong."  
  
"True," Mirai agreed. He sat on the floor next to them and peered out at what was happening. He didn't seem worried and, in fact, had grabbed a quick snack to eat. "But we're going to stall for time. We'll be going home in a short while, by the way."  
  
Goten looked at Mirai with hopefully eyes. "That machine's fixed?! That didn't take long at all."  
  
"Yeah, it was no problem." Mirai said with a careless shrug. "The real fun is about to start." He smiled.  
  
"What fun?"  
  
"Just watch." Mirai pointed to where King Vegeta was still speaking with Frieza, trying very hard to keep his temper in check.   
  
The throne room door was flung open and who should walk out, but Gohan, still carrying baby Bra and wearing his most idiotic, kick-me expression. It was the kind of vacant eyed expression that had often enticed foolish bullies to try their luck with Gohan only to find that there was a brain and muscles behind that innocent face.  
  
"What's he doing?" Chibi-Trunks whispered. "King Vegeta told us to hide."  
  
Mirai said, "He was told to do this. He's supposed to distract Frieza for a little while, just long enough so he doesn't leave to soon."  
  
"To soon for what?" Goten asked, pulling on Mirai's sleeve.  
  
"You'll see."  
  
King Vegeta-  
  
King Vegeta kept his face carefully under control when the boy walked in, still holding the baby that had rarely left his arms for the passed few days. 'Is he an idiot?!' King Vegeta looked at Kakarot for any support, but there was nothing he could do other than stand with the other guards. Anything out of the ordinary could get them all killed by Frieza and Gohan was nothing, if not out of the ordinary. 'I KNOW I told them to keep out of sight when Frieza got here!' A sidelong glance showed him three sets of feet peeking out from under a heavy curtain that separated the throne room from a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. 'At least those three are keeping out of trouble. What's Gohan thinking? I told him Frieza was a lot more powerful than the Ginyu force and he brought the baby, too!'  
  
"Hello!" Gohan chirped pleasantly with a bright smile as if he didn't even see Frieza. "I was looking for my dad, Sire. I don't suppose you've seen him. Oh," He belated noticed Frieza. "I didn't see you had a visitor. I'm so sorry, didn't mean..."  
  
"Who is this?" Frieza demanded, getting up from King Vegeta's throne. "Since when do you allow children into your throne room, King of Monkey's? Are you showing me disrespect by letting your people know you think so little of my power?" His tone turned slightly threatening as he looked from Gohan to King Vegeta.  
  
"No, lord Frieza." King Vegeta assured him, while he wondered how he was going to get out of this little situation without getting anyone else killed. "He's...um...the nanny."  
  
Frieza gave King Vegeta a look that would freeze the sun. "The what?"  
  
King Vegeta hardened his resolve. Once, many Saiyan children had died for his mistake of defying Frieze and King Vegeta was determined that no more children were hurt for his mistakes. Even if it was this simple minded boy who'd caused the problem in the first place. King Vegeta wasn't even sure he'd be able to talk his way out of the Ginyu force's deaths, but he had to give it his best effort, as much as he hated crawling to this lizard.  
  
"He's the nanny of the crowned princess, Braka." King Vegeta said in a firmer voice. "After my death, she will take the throne of Vegetasai."  
  
Frieza, who'd listened with a sour expression, went to stand in front of the oblivious looking Gohan and then down at little Bra. With his clawed fingers, Frieza pulled back the blanket that covered Bra's head. "Blue hair? Since when do Saiyan's have blue hair?"  
  
"All infant females are born with blue hair. It turns brown as they grow older." King Vegeta lied. The last thing he wanted was for Frieza to learn that there was a dimension travel machine close by. That would be a real disaster.   
  
"I had no idea you were mated, King Vegeta. You've never given me the opportunity to meet your queen and this is the first I've seen your lovely daughter."  
  
King Vegeta opened his mouth to answer, but Gohan beat him to it. Still holding Bra in one arm, Gohan used his free hand to slap Frieza on the back in a friendly manner as he laughed uproariously. "What?! His majesty married? Are you nuts, pal? Jeeze, what a stupid idea!"  
  
King Vegeta was valiantly fighting off a heart attack.  
  
"Stupid, eh?" Frieze looked dangerously at Gohan, who still didn't seem to notice what peril he was in.  
  
Staggering backwards, away from the foolish boy and the deadly Frieza, King Vegeta bumped into Kakarot. "Sire, what are we going to do?" Kakarot muttered under his breath. "He'll kill them."  
  
Once again, King Vegeta took a deep breath and stepped back into the brewing inferno. "Not if I have anything to say about it." He raised his voice slightly. "Lord Frieza,"  
  
But Gohan was speaking very loudly and very quickly, keeping Frieza's attention on him, even as he began pacing the room, darting this way and that. "King Vegeta's not married, you see, this isn't his daughter. This is his third cousin's, second son's, twice removed aunt's daughter. Since he hasn't got any children, he bought this one. Isn't she adorable?" Gohan tossed Bra up into the air once or twice before he grinned again at the fuming Frieza. "Boy, you sure don't know much, do you? Who are you anyway? I didn't know we had any lizards on Vegetasai as big as you. Is he for eating, Sire?" Gohan licked his lips and stepped closer to Frieza. "He looks a bit stringy, not to mention little, but," Gohan's innocent eyes narrowed just a little. "I'll eat anything I can sink my teeth into." Gohan lashed out with one hand and caught Frieza's wrist. "You'll do."  
  
Furious, Frieza tore his wrist away from Gohan. "How dare you!" Frieza snarled. "You insolent monkey, you've just signed your own death warrant! I'll tear you apart with my bare hands before I kill you!"  
  
Gohan spun on one foot and suddenly threw Bra towards the heavy curtain, behind which King Vegeta knew the other three children were waiting. Calmly, Mirai stepped out into the open and caught the baby. "Be careful, Gohan." Mirai warned. "That's my sister you're tossing around."  
  
"Awww, come on. You know I wouldn't hurt her." Gohan called back. "She's practically my sister, too, you know. I just didn't want her in the middle of things if it came to fighting."  
  
"What do you mean, if?" Frieza drew back his arm and aimed for Gohan, but Gohan easily dodged out of the way. The simple dodge only made Frieza more furious. "Who are you?"  
  
"Me?" Gohan pointed at his chest. Oh, I'm no one for you to worry about. If I were you," He put an arm over Frieza's shoulders boldly and steered him to the still open door. "I'd worry about him."  
  
Vegeta stepped into the doorway and he was smiling.  
  
How strange it was, King Vegeta thought, to see yourself. It really was like looking into a mirror, except for the strange clothes his other self was wearing.   
  
Kakarot, or, rather, Kakarot's other self, came in behind the other Vegeta, smiling pleasantly. It was only then that the other children made themselves known, rushing out from behind the curtain and going to their fathers. "Hi, kids."  
  
"Daddy!" Goten cried, throwing himself at the other Kakarot. "We missed you!"  
  
Chibi-Trunks went to the other Vegeta, but was far more reserved in his greeting. "Hi, dad."  
  
"Hi, brat." The other Vegeta looked down at his son and then up at the older boy, Mirai. "Brat. You both look healthy enough."  
  
"They took pretty good care of us." Mirai agreed. "I think Gohan wanted to give you a present, though. He didn't even hurt Frieza, just like you asked him to, dad."  
  
Goku-  
  
Vegeta looked across the hall at Frieza. His eyes were burning.   
  
For a moment, Goku remembered what is was like to be on the end of Vegeta's fiery glare, but even he had never had such a hate filled look directed at him. Goku had often been looked at by Vegeta with jealously, irritation, anger, and disgust, but never with such raw hate. This wasn't going to be a good day for Frieza.   
  
Frieza looked at King Vegeta and then turned to Vegeta. A grin on his face, he said, "I didn't know you had more than one monkey king on this world." He commented.  
  
Goku looked at Vegeta with a happily innocent smile. "He's all yours." Goku gestured to Frieza with a slight bow in Vegeta's direction. "Enjoy." Vegeta had been longing for this opportunity for far to long. All right, so it wasn't exactly going to be a fair fight. Right now, though, Vegeta didn't look like he cared much about fairness.   
  
"Thank you, Kakarot. I will have to repay you for this...unexpected pleasure." Vegeta started to smile, his eyes narrowing. "Do take the children out of the room. The woman would make me sleep on the couch if they see what I'm about to do."  
  
"You heard him, kids." Goku looked at his sons and Vegeta's children. "Time to leave."  
  
Chibi-Trunks whined, "But I wanted to see it, too!" Even as Goku  
  
"Now, now, this is no time to argue with your father. Why don't you all tell me what you've been up to? By the way, Gohan, thanks for keeping him busy while we got here."  
  
King Vegeta-  
  
King Vegeta noticed all of his soldiers quietly filing out of the throne room. "What...?" But Kakarot taking him by the arm and pulling him in the direction of the retreating soldiers silenced him.   
  
"You need to leave, Sire." Kakarot said in no nonsense tone of voice. "It's far to dangerous for you to stay."  
  
"I'm not going to run away from my own throne room, Kakarot!" King Vegeta tried to pull his arm away from Kakarot, but, once again, found out the reason why Kakarot was his bodyguard. As strong as King Vegeta was, Kakarot was stronger. There was no sense in having a bodyguard who was weaker than the person they were guarding, after all. King Vegeta, sadly, had to spend most of his time with kingly duties instead of training.  
  
Kakarot gave him a hard look. "My responsibility is to guard your body. You are leaving where it's on your own feet or if I have to carry you. Make your choice."  
  
It wasn't often that Kakarot asserted his authority to safeguarding the royal person and it made King Vegeta cautious when he saw the small light that showed Kakarot was using his scouter. "Their power level? What is it?"  
  
"Very, very high. I think you'd be happier not knowing, sire. You need to leave." He gave a longing look over his shoulder to his other self who was standing with the children now. "I wonder what it would be like to fight with myself? Maybe he'll stay long enough for me to find out."  
  
"If he survives Frieza." King Vegeta said darkly as he finally allowed Kakarot to lead him out of the throne room.   
  
"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem."  
  
Outside the throne room, King Vegeta and Kakarot listened while Frieza started to scream.  
  
"I've been waiting a long time to hear that." Kakarot muttered. Then he turned his attention to his other self who was holding his younger son on one shoulder and squatting down so he could talk to Chibi-Trunks. "So," he said, speaking to his other self for the first time. "What's it like being a father?"  
  
"Great!" The other Kakarot replied enthusiastically. "Have you ever been married? Do we have kids in this dimension, too? This is so weird."  
  
"No, no children. I'm not mated, yet." Kakarot answered, slightly blushing at the idea.  
  
Mirai-  
  
"You didn't really have to come all this way for us." Mirai told Goku. It wasn't that he was sorry his dad had come to rescue them, it showed that his dad actually cared a bit, but he was a little disappointed that he hadn't been trusted enough to get them all back safely. "I fixed the machine mom built and we were all heading back today, anyway."  
  
Goku gave him a knowing smile. "Your mom was very worried about you." He changed the subject when Mirai started to turn away, embarrassed. "Besides, this gave me time to explore a little. I've never seen Vegetasai before, so it's a good experience..." Goku paused. "I think Vegeta's done."  
  
The screams of agony from Frieza ended abruptly as Frieza died a long overdue death  
  
When Vegeta emerged from the throne room, he was covered head to foot in sticky looking purple goo. "Ewww!" Goku said, flinching away. "I forgot how much Frieza's blood stinks! You'll need a bath, Veggie!"   
  
For once, Vegeta didn't get irritated at Goku's remarks and, instead, went to take Bra from Mirai. "How's daddy's little princess?" He cooed happily. It really seemed that he didn't notice all the muck on him, until he told King Vegeta, "I'd get a cleaning crew in there as soon as possible, if I were you. You've got a few stains on the carpet. Heh, heh. Purple stains."  
  
Vegeta was in good mood all day.  
  
And so, everyone went back to where their own dimension. Vegeta repeated Bulma's instructions on returning to their home dimension to Mirai and it was decided that he and Gohan would take one of the Dimension Shifters while Vegeta, Goku, and the two children would take the other one. No one wanted to leave one around when King Vegeta might later get notions of conquest.  
  
Once at home, they came out of the Dimension Shifters to find a tired looking Bulma waiting for them. She sprang up the moment she saw them and ran to her family, hugging and kissing as if she'd never see them again.  
  
"Honestly, woman." Vegeta grumbled, with less heat in his tone than an ice cube. "You'd think we'd all died again."  
  
"Shut up, Veggie-chan." Bulma whispered, putting her arms around his neck and putting her head on his shoulder. "Just stand there quietly and let me hold you." She sniffed once, but didn't break into tears again. "You really are my hero."   
  
The end  
  
Author's note: My, but that took me long enough, huh?  
  
Hope you all enjoyed it.   
  
This wasn't really meant to be such a long fic, it was just going to be a very short one chapter thing, but, as usual, it grew. 


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